S.T. Dupont is a French

manufacturing company Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

based in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, which has been making luxury goods since its founding in 1872. Products commercialised include

handbag A handbag, commonly known as a purse or pocketbook in North American English, is a handled medium-to-large bag used to carry personal items. Purse, handbag or pouch The term "purse" originally referred to a small bag for holding coins. In man ...

lighters A lighter is a portable device which creates a flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of items, such as cigarettes, gas lighter, fireworks, candles or campfires. It consists of a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable liquid or ...

, collectible

pen A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity wh ...

perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...

s (produced under license by ''Interparfums''), cigarettes (made by

Philip Morris International Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) is an American multinational tobacco company, with products sold in over 180 countries. The most recognized and best selling product of the company is Marlboro. Philip Morris International is often ref ...

), and recently other gadgets using the trademark diamond-head pattern.S.T. Dupont website
It is a wholly owned subsidiary of

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

luxury goods company

Dickson Concepts Dickson Concepts (International) Ltd. (DCIL) is a Hong Kong based luxury goods company. It has held the distributorship of Ralph Lauren products in Asia for more than 20 years. The company is controlled by its founder and Executive Chairman Dick ...

History

Simon Tissot-Dupont (born in Savoy in 1847) founded a carriage company which was destroyed in a fire in 1872. The same year, he bought a workshop which made leather briefcases for diplomats and businessmen. In 1884, Dupont became the supplier to one of the world's largest shops – Les Grands Magasins du Louvre – while maintaining his private clientele. Dupont handed over his company in 1919 to his sons, Lucien and André, who, trading under the name of ''Les Fils de S.T. Dupont'' (the Sons of S.T. Dupont), relaunched the activity. They focused on high-quality travel cases and accessories. Craftsmen were employed and patents were taken out to protect industrial secrets. 250 workers and 17 separate traders were involved in the manufacture, including goldsmiths, woodworkers, engravers, leather craftsmen, lacquer workers, and locksmiths. S.T. Dupont transferred its workshops from in Paris back to the family's hometown of

Faverges Faverges (; frp, Favèrges) is a former commune located in Haute-Savoie department situated in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region (south-east of France). On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Faverges-Seythenex.

in Savoy in 1924. In 1929, Lucien Tissot-Dupont was invited to New York by

Louis Cartier Cartier International SNC, or simply Cartier (; ), is a French high-end luxury goods conglomerate that designs, manufactures, distributes, and sells jewellery, leather goods, and watches. Founded by Louis-François Cartier (1819–1904) in Paris ...

to present his travel cases in their 5th Avenue shop. On the ship going to New York, he learned about the Wall Street crash. In response, on his subsequent return to Paris, he decided to move even further upmarket and cater to clients unaffected by the crash. In 1971, Gillette purchased 48% of the stock of S.T. Dupont. In 1987, the company was sold to

, a

retailer of fashion products, watches and jewellery,Gillette is selling a unit
on ''The New York Times'', Aug 27, 1987 as part of a restructuring plan announced by Gillette.Gillette Selling French Unit To Dickson Concepts
AP, 27 Aug 1987

Products

Dupont has gone on to produce lighters, pens, wallets, watches, cigarette (made by

) and fragrances. The company's first serially-produced lighter was created in 1941 and was made of aluminium, as brass was used as a strategic metal restricted for war purposes only. From 1958 to 1963, all lighters were constructed of 18k solid gold with 3% brass.

References

External links

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Gizmodo: S.T. Dupont Creates Palladium Flash Drive for the Well-Heeled
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